Chapter 2 - Oozing Poison (AKE)
“It has been six long years. For each day, we Clubbas have been crossing off the occupation of the Koopas on our beloved homeland, hoping that a rightful King or Queen would return, a descendant of Cloansar, the Clubba who defined our species.” Tubba kneeled down on the balcony, having had it repaired from his vicious battle with Ludwig. He stared down at the new stones, breathing deeply. This was his moment. Hundreds of thousands of Clubbas amassed below the balcony, venturing to see their King be crowned. “The Faction of Cloansar refused to crown the Koopan Wards, for neither of them had legitimate claim to be royal descendants of Cloansar.” Tubba glanced upwards from the balcony, his eyes settling on the yellow Clubba that was the head priest of The Faction of Cloansar. In the large, yellow-scaled hands of the head priest, lay the golden crown of the Clubbas. The crown had been carried through the generations of Tubba’s family, untarnished and glowing as it passed from hand to hand, a closed top not unlike a knight helmet, and tall spikes, like the one on the head of Tubba’s club, ranged across the top. The priest turned to Tubba, prompting Tubba to bend his head again. “Tubba Red Clubba Blubba the Second, former Heir to the Clubban Lands, the last descendant of Cloansar, son of King Tubba Blue Clubba Blubba I, grandson of Karubba Red Clubba Blubba, brother of Chubba Teal Clubba Blubba, cousin of Mycerinus Darbarius Clubba Blubba, and the appointed King-in-waiting...” Tubba closed his eyes, focusing firmly on his body, the scars he wore, the wounds he had borne. It was all worth it. “Your former titles are now shed.” Tubba felt the crown settle on his head, weighing it down. “All hail His Majesty, King Tubba Red Clubba Blubba the Second, Lord of the Clubban Lands, the Everlasting Life and Living Legacy of Cloansar Blubbar, and the Ruler of All Hipombrus.” When the Clubba Empire had tumbled in the year 787, the leaders who had felled Habba Blubbar, a distant ancestor of Tubba’s, had decided on a pact. The story was well known across the world - Eclair of the Waffle people, Toadstool of the Mushroom people, Bean of the Beanish people, Kong of the apes and Zazau of the Iglators defeated Habba’s Empire, forcing the Clubban Empire to fracture into six parts. These five parts were further subdivided as the Koopas, Kremlings and Sarasalanders rose up against the original six Kingdoms. Now, seven Kingdoms and one territory roamed the land, ranging from the mainland Mushroom Kingdom, to the peninsular BeanBean Kingdom, to the northeastern Clubba Kingdom, to the two islands that made up the Waffle Kingdom, to the southern, arid volcanic land that was the Koopa Kingdom, with the Sarasaland Kingdom prodding out into the ocean, and lastly, the Zaz Kingdom and their motley collection of islands, and the sole territory, the Kreming Archipelago. The Clubba Kingdom had existed from the fall of the Empire in 787, all the way to 2016, where Tubba was handed the greatest black mark on his CV. A weak leader in his cousin, Mycerinus, was deposed by the Mushrooms and Beans, forcing Tubba to take up arms and ally himself with the Koopas. The Koopas intended to fully annex Clubban territory, and make it part of their growing Kingdom. Tubba, with the full intention to double cross them, did so and was victorious in the First Battle of Gusty Gulch against the Koopas, before pursuing what remained of the Koopan Army to Barrel Volcano, where he was double crossed, by none other than his own brother. The following six years had no Clubba Kingdom. 1229 years of history as a Kingdom, 1943 years as a sovereign entity. It was a failure on the ruling dynasty. Tubba’s dynasty. There was no one else to pin this failure on. And so Tubba refused to rest for the next six years. The Clubbas had to return in their near-two millenia existence. In the 1949th year since the founding the Empire, 2022, Tubba returned to Gusty Gulch, and saw how it had changed. The Clubba Castle had used to be the warm, strong, figure highlighting the seaside sunsets. Now, the Koopas had brought their own symbol of dominance to Gusty Gulch. Two silvery white spires stretched up to the sky, a high-security prison known as The Place of the Unruly. In between them was a ring, where commoners and Koopas alike could go in to witness public executions. That was where Tubba was supposed to be executed when he and his friends were captured. But, Tubba and his friends stayed alive. They threw a spanner into Ludwig’s plans. The symbol of Clubban hope remained alive. Even though Clubbas like Paralus were captured, Tubba was out there, a spark of belief. The Last Heir of Cloansar remained. Tubba had never felt so alive, before or since. That was his moment. When Paralus took down the Place of the Unruly in a prisoner revolt a few weeks later, the Koopas were on borrowed time. Using the stone that the Place of the Unruly had been built out of, Tubba used it to fund his own building projects. He constructed statues, one of his father, the original Tubba, the Clubba who had raised from birth to just before his fourteenth birthday. A second one was made of Clubbar, and a third of Cloansar, the very first Clubban Emperor, in accordance to his depictions on royal portraits salvaged from the nearly two millennia ago he reigned. Furthermore, he had set Gusty Gulch on a path to advancement. The Clubbas had fallen well behind the rest of the world - and Tubba was determined to change that. He had the castle reinforced with the stone, the houses changing from sandstone walls into strong, stone-fortified houses. The harbour was reconstructed, the ships built stronger, the brightest minds in the Kingdom were set on getting their first planes in the air before the year was out, and space was a target in the next three years. The path to the future was inevitable. “So, velcome, I guess you are all vondering vhy I have summoned zis meeting here today,” Ludwig’s heavily-accented voice broke through Tubba’s reflections on the path the Clubbas had beaten for themselves. The throne room of the Koopa Castle, which Tubba had been quite acquainted too over the years, was constructed out of stone, with high, arching walls reaching up to the sky, licks of deep orange flame hovering above their holsters, casting the whole room in a deep orange light, an atmosphere further correlated with lava pools flanking the gold and green throne. The throne had long, silvery spikes lining the top, not unlike the shell of the current King. Normally, a red carpet led from the entrance hall to the throne, but today, Ludwig had placed a long, dark brown table, ending at the throne, where he lounged. Spread out around the rest of the table were the high-ranking officials of the various Kingdoms. Tubba had kept the Clubba Kingdom’s high representation down to himself and Paralus, but he could see that the other Kingdoms had not followed the same suit. Only the Waffle-Beans had brought less of a contingent, with only King Peasley, the reigning monarch of the BeanBean side as their representative. “Ludwig,” Peasley spoke up, flashing his less-lustrous famous smile. As a teenager, his smile was known to dazzle, but as time went on, it dulled with his hair and facial features, with bags creeping under his eyes. As Peasley was still a younger man of thirty-six, he had aged far quicker than anyone had anticipated. Can’t relate to that. Tubba thought sarcastically, watching as Peasley slammed his hand on the table, glaring at Ludwig. “Let’s get to the point, Ludwig,” the Beanish King pointed a gloved finger at Ludwig. “I’ve dealt with your father enough to know that you’re scheming something. What is it?” “Don’t act all superior, Peasley,” Ludwig hissed, “you’re barely sree years older zan me. Don’t act all vise.” Peasley and Ludwig had never seen eye to eye, according to what Tubba had read. It had something to do with their encounter almost twenty years ago, when a Beanish witch named Cackletta and her cronie, Fawful, had attempted to take over the BeanBean Kingdom. What that had to do with Ludwig, Tubba wasn’t quite sure. A more obvious sticking point to him would be the unity of the Waffle-Beans - when Peasley married Princess - now Queen - Eclair in 2017, the Koopas were cut off from their native lands, the Zaz Kingdom, from the west, as the airspace and oceans from the westward. “Yeah!” Agreement came from Peasley’s right, where, clad in her typical orange dress, the Queen of Sarasaland, Daisy, declared. Sarasaland had demanded independence from the Mushroom Kingdom in 2020, three years ago, and with Daisy being close friends to the Mushroom Kingdom rulers, it was granted without fuss. In the process of independence, Daisy married Luigi, the younger of the two Mario brothers. Luigi was sitting on the other side of his wife, his sandy-grey hair and drooping mustache reflecting his advanced age - the Mario brothers had celebrated their sixtieth birthday recently. Even Daisy, as she glared at Ludwig, had not escaped the effects of aging, her auburn hair had a few strands of gray, and was not as flowy as before, with wrinkles creeping across her face. “I’m twenty years older than you, Ludwig, and I say Peasley has a valid argument. Get to the point!” As ever, Tubba reflected, Daisy isn’t one for diplomacy. It was in alignment with her reputation. Ludwig sighed, twiddling the blue orbed metal rod that was his magic sceptre. “You’ve barely ruled zat Kingdom of yours for vone year longer than me. Furzermore, zat Kingdom of yours has no history to maintain. You are zee first rulers.” His blue eyes burned as he returned Daisy’s glare. “I vill get to my points vhen I get to my points.” “However,” a quieter, softer voice broke in. Tubba turned his attention across the table to the Queen of the Mushroom Kingdom, Queen Peach. Peach had been the formal ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom from the death of her father King Toadstool in 1968, two years after her birth.Yet, she was never afforded the title of Queen, as the Mushroom Kingdom laws prevented a Queen from being declared without a King. Tubba always thought that rule was stupid, as the Clubbas had never had a rule like that, and was thankful it was repealed in the past five years. Still though, Peach did not have the legal ability to repeal the law as a Princess, and had to become Queen by marrying the current King Mario in 2019, before she could do so, after fifty-one years of reign. “I have been reigning my Kingdom for over fifty years, Ludwig,” Peach began, “and I agree with Peasley and Daisy. Dealing with Bowser has got us all prepared. What exactly do you have cooked up?” Ludwig opened his mouth to rebut, and then stopped for a moment. It was clear, that unlike Daisy, Luigi and Peasley, Ludwig had a begrudging respect for the aging monarch of the Mushroom Kingdom, despite the wrinkles and grey-blonde hair she now sported. She and a general that Tubba recognized, Tyrone Toadal, a pipe puffing out rings of smoke from the mouth of the blue-spotted Toad, were the representatives of the Mushroom Kingdom. “Very vell. Do zee Clubbas,” Ludwig glanced over to Tubba, and then over to two unknown Kritters that Tubba did not recognize, “or zee Kremlings have any objections?” It had been a surprise to see two Kritters that were unfamiliar representing the Kremlings - Tubba hoped that it was not a sign that Kremstag had been overthrown by another civil war. When met with a negative response, Ludwig took a deep breath. “Over zee past years, all of our Kingdoms have struggled,” Ludwig began, his voice oozing with maliciousness. “We have struggled to retain zee territory vee have claimed,” Ludwig cast a pointed look at Tubba, “or to srive under zee new atmosphere of the world, where vee have all decided to make advancements to space, and societies further behind,” he cast this time, a disdainful look at Tubba, “to zee sky.” That’s not true, Tubba thought, the Clubbas have thrived since being released from Koopan reign. Don’t blame me for the mistakes of my father. He met Ludwig’s gaze evenly. You didn’t want us to advance to the sky, because you were afraid it would mean the end of your control of the Clubbas. Little did you know, you were chased out anyway. “In times like zis, vee look to ally.” Ludwig crossed his arms, closing his eyes for a moment. Opening his green eyelids, he puffed up his chest and drew himself to his full height. “Peasley and zee Beans, I know zat you aligned vith zee Vaffles.” Peasley nodded, and Ludwig changed his attention to Peach, Daisy, Luigi and Toadal. “Zee Mushrooms and Sarasalanders, although zey had a disagreement vithin zee past sree years, remain close allies, especially since zee royal families are now even further related.” His tufts of blue hair highlighted in the orange light, Ludwig placed a hand on the table, glaring across it to Tubba. “Even zee eternally behind Clubbas and Kremlings,” he snarled, “have aligned zemselves vith each other, to my knowledge.” Although one of the Kremlings attempted to speak up, the Koopa King spoke over him. “As zee only Kingdom vithout an ally in this portion of zee vorld, vee vere forced to look elsewhere.” In that instant, Tubba knew where this was going, and a deep sense of foreboding crept into his stomach. “In zat light, zee Koopas have decided to align themselves vith zee Zaz Kingdom, zee lands of our ancestors.” Ludwig let a smile creep onto his face, knowing that he had his audience in captivated silence. “Of course, I did not call zis meeting to just tell you zat. I called zis meeting to give you an ultimatum.” Pausing, Ludwig waited for his words to sink in. Tubba knew he had a disgusted expression on his face, but didn’t bother to change it as Ludwig’s ice-blue gaze swept over him. “Vee demand significant portions of your territory, at our discretion, as a peace treaty. Ozzervise...” “Vee vill take it, and more zan vat vee asked for, by force.”